A Little Series Called the Lunar Chronicles
by porcelaincountess
Summary: The Lunar Chronicles get published in the world of the Lunar Chronicles. Also features a royal wedding. Spoilers for the whole freaking series.
1. Chapter 1

**Title:** A Little Series Called The Lunar Chronicles

 **Author:** Rose

 **Fandom:** The Lunar Chronicles

 **Pairing:** Predominantly Kai/Cinder

 **Rating:** K+

 **Disclaimer:** I don't own them.

 **Summary:** The Lunar Chronicles get published in the world of the Lunar Chronicles. Also features a royal wedding.

Three years after the Lunar revolution, the galaxy was in an uproar. Emperor Kaito of the Eastern Commonwealth was engaged to the former Queen of Luna, Selene Blackburn and as the wedding loomed ever closer more and more questions surfaced. The Earthens were worried about the relationship between some of the most powerful people in the universe, worried that Selene had seduced Kaito, worried she had some blackmail or other means of manipulating him. And their fears were well founded. Almost three years prior, Queen Levana of Luna had been pursuing the Emperor with dubious intentions. And although she had failed in her attempts many were still worried that Selene might be continuing her Aunt's attempted power grab.

In the months leading up to the planned ceremony there had been countless protests in the doorsteps of New Beijing Palace. Angry citizens with signs that spoke out against everything from the marriage itself to allowing Lunars on the planet at all. Another sect of people had come out from the woodwork, those who were angry at the dismantling of the Cyborg Protection Act, who were disgusted by the idea of a cyborg sharing a bed with their Emperor. They picketed outside with signs painted with a single cyborg foot with wires sprouting out of the ankle - a supposed reminder of Blackburn's inhumanity.

The Lunars on the other hand had just started looking into their own history. During Selene's short reign, the devastation of the revolution was so fresh that many people ignored it entirely. Now that some time had started to pass between, and the democratic Lunar government had started looking into its past trying to find history with which to stir nationalistic pride, the people of Luna were asking questions. No one really knew how Selene had been kept alive during the fourteen years she was away nor how she had learned of her birth. In the log of Lunar history, mostly told through Earthen media as Lunar media from the time was sheer propaganda, Lihn Cinder suddenly popped onto the world's radar at the Annual Peace Ball. By which time she seemed to have already met the Emperor and possibly established who she was, but no one was for certain. And in light of the upcoming nuptials it only made people more skeptical about their relationship.

Which is how Emperor Kaito had ended up calling a press conference this gray Saturday morning. The Earth and several Lunar reports filled the Palace media room to its capacity and waited for the Emperor to arrive. After several minutes the side door opened and several people filed in, a couple guards, the head of Public Relations, Royal Advisor Konn Torin, Selene Blackburn and finally Emperor Kaito himself. The press were on their feet shouting questions at the royal couple, but both of them kept blank faces as Kaito stepped up to the podium.

"Thank you for coming today. I have asked you here to make a somewhat unexpected announcement." The crowd burst into questions.

"Is the wedding off?"

"Are you stepping down?"

"Is Selene pregnant?"

But Kai just raised a hand and the room fell silent.

"The former Lunar Queen, Selene Channary Jannali Blackburn, and I, in addition to several other people, have been working on a project for the last year. And now it is almost ready to release to the public." The Emperor paused and took a steady breath. "We understand that their are many questions surrounding the upcoming marriage and our relationship. We understand why the people of the Eastern Commonwealth are surreptitious. And so we have been working with a writer named Marissa Meyer in efforts to chronicle many of the events that will answer the questions the galaxy has been asking."

"However, we feel that if we are here for the release of these publications it might cause a stir. Wishing to avoid any problems we have made travel arrangements to be away during the time that these volumes are being released. Questions?"

"How many volumes are being released?" asked a reporter from the back.

"Five in total. Four follow the main narrative and the fifth is a supplemental volume."

"When will they be released?"

"They will not be released all at the same time. We believe that there needs to be some time in between each volume to fully absorb its story. As a result we have decided that the first one will be released a week from today, Saturday April 10, and the four following will be released the following Saturdays." Those who were quick at calculations were able to add up that the last book would be released on May 8th, a week before the scheduled date of the royal wedding.

"When are you leaving? And when will you come back?"

"I will be leaving the evening of April the seventh, after my birthday festivities. And we will be arriving back on Monday May 10 here at New Beijing Palace."

"We? Will this just be Miss Blackburn, or will there be others involved?"

"Several others will be joining us on our trip."

"Who?" For the first time the Emperor's poker face chipped and a small smile pulled at the side of his lips.

"Crescent Moon Darnel, Scarlet Benoit-Kesley, Jacin Clay, Selene's Counselor Iko, Ze'ev Kesley, Carswell Thorne and Winter Hayle-Blackburn." At Winter's name a chatter went up, even though she was no longer royal the media still had a slightly unhealthy obsession with her. Maybe it was her kind heart that caught their attention. Or maybe it was her flawless good looks. Either way, now that they knew Winter was involved the world was sure to pay attention. But Kaito interrupted the chattering, "During this time though, I warn you, we shall be unavailable for contact and refuse to comment on the Chronicles until we return back on the tenth."

"What will happen to the wedding?"

"Wedding will continue as planned on Saturday May 15, 129 TE. The wedding coordinator, Tashmi Priya, has our wishes recorded and will not need us for the final preparations. We have been have been working with her for the past eight months, and are confident that she can walk through the final stages of the event without us. That will be all for today." Emperor Kaito stepped down from the podium and left the room, followed by Selene and the advisor while the head of Public Relations stepped up to take several more questions.

This announcement, both unexpected and vague, did not gain much attention as it was overshadowed by the Emperor's upcoming birthday - a national holiday. However several main news feeds ran the press conference and speculated on the nature of the Chronicles. Everyone seemed to take a step back though and decided to reserve judgment for the release of the first volume in the Chronicles.

The Emperor's birthday came and there was a huge celebration, parties in the street and fireworks that lit up the night sky. But as the night went on and the party at the palace started to die down, the residents of New Beijing witnessed a 214 Rampion flying low over the city. It landed on a pad on the palace grounds and quickly scooped up both His Imperial Majesty and his wife to be, along with an escort droid with braids in varying shades of blue.

The ship vanished into the dark night sky, and later that night posters silently appeared all across the galaxy, lighting up huge netscreens on buildings and in town squares. The advertisements were simple. Silver words on a dark blue background.

 _An outlaw._

 _A princess._

 _A hacker._

 _A guard._

 _A farmer._

 _An android._

 _A soldier._

 _An emperor._

 _And a mechanic._


	2. Chapter 2

On Saturday April 10th 129 T.E. at 8am in New Beijing, the first volume of the Lunar Chronicles, titled _Cinder_ , was released. It was published both through electronic copies available for purchase through any portscreen and in several thousand printed and bound copies released to specialty book sellers all across the galaxy. Only a few copies were sold.

However, because both the Emperor and Winter the public's beloved princess were said to be involved with this series, the people who did start reading it was the Lunar and Earthen media. They took their time reading through it, only posting their reviews the following Monday. Most newsfeeds took the stance that this story, which took place before Kaito was even an Emperor, was most likely fabricated.

"This _is_ propaganda," said a particularly emphatic reporter from the American Republic. "There is _no way_ that the Lunar princess and the future Emperor of the Eastern Commonwealth just _happened_ to meet each other. And it is preposterous to believe they just _happened_ to fall for each other prior to Annual Peace Ball of 126 T.E. They must have constructed this piece of fiction to make the public less revolted by their union. But I _don't_ buy it. And neither should you."

Similar stories were released across many mainstream newsfeeds and they flooded the net. And then late that Monday night, footage was leaked to the newsfeeds, Earthen and Lunar alike.

The black title screen read " _From the Rampion_ " and faded quickly. A small yet beautiful room appeared, with intricate designs of gold flowers and red chinese dragons on the walls with a gorgeous blackwood floor and ceiling. There was a small timestamp in the bottom lefthand corner of the screen, it read **18 Aug 126 T.E. 16:47:32** with the seconds flying away. Suddenly, the wall on the left side of the screen slid open, parting in the middle.

Two people entered the spacious elevator, the first was Kai - a perfectly groomed prince. The person who followed him was a slim, grungy looking girl in grease stained cargo pants that hugged her hips, large work gloves, and a small tank top that looked like it should have been thrown in a trash compactor years ago. But when she glanced up quickly at the camera as she entered, the world recognized her instantly.

Selene brushed some of her hair out of her face and said something to Kai. The video had no sound, which it should have come with, but the footage had clearly been edited and the audio cut. But it was later discussed that there was really no audio needed, all the words could be found in _Cinder_ anyways. It was a smart marketing tactic, too. Anyone curious about the conversation had to read the book.

Kai made a face at her and relaxed, leaning up against the wall, while Selene seemed absolutely fascinated by her boots. As Kai talked, her body seemed to squeeze together, like she was afraid, and responded with her lips barely moving. Kai was the one to glance up at the camera this time, and then he shrugged at it as his lips started to move. As they talked Kai folded his arms across his chest and held his shoulders up to his ears, then at something Selene said he unwound and ran a frustrated hand through his hair. Selene continued to stare at her boots.

Kai's gaze landed on Selene and his entire body relaxed against the back wall, kind eyes running over her several times. Her stature was hunched as if she thought that if she made herself as small as she could maybe the world would forget she existed. Or at least Kai would. After a moment, Selene hesitantly raised her eyes and looked at him, then jerked her hands to her chest. Kai said something, and it was apparent from the look in his eyes and the way his lips moved, that it was spoken soft and tenderly. Selene gave him a stern look and a single syllable answer.

But Kai's tender look didn't abate and he held her harsh stare for a long moment. Then he said one small thing and it seemed to break her right in two. She slumped against the wall and knotted her hands together, grumbling a response. Kai cocked his head, catching her gaze and flashed her a confident, charming smile before responding. Selene gave him a deadpan look and a biting comment. Kai almost smiled, returning to his sincere expression before responding. They went back and forth for a moment and then Kai put his thumbs into his pockets and replied, it was the kind of casual pose that would have killed many of his fangirls across the universe. Selene just gave him a very obvious eye roll and then looked away.

Pushing himself away from the wall, Kai moved toward Selene and tried to catch her eyes as he spoke. She responded exasperatedly keeping her eyes glued on the door. A frozen moment passed between them were neither said anything, but Kai continued to gaze at Selene with a deep intensity. She was determinedly refusing to meet his gaze, but it was obvious from the straightness of her back and the tense way she held her body that she was aware of his presence. Kai took a hesitant step forward and his lips twitched in a single word. Reluctantly her head lifted and she met his heartfelt stare. With an earnest questioning look, Kai asked her a single question. Selene's eyes grew wide and pressed her body close to the wall stumbling to respond.

Then the elevator doors slid open and Selene glanced at them like they were her savior. She sidestepped Kai and left quickly saying something over her shoulder as she went. His eyes never left her, catching every movement, every glance. There was a silent moment when Kai simply looked after her before he let out a long sigh that hunched his body. Then the doors started to slowly slide shut, and Kai jerked his head up, quickly paced over and caught one of the doors before it closed. The outline of his figure was clear against the bright white of the Research Facilities where he stood for a while before being roughly shoved back into the elevator.

Selene was clearly frustrated with him and glaring down Kai's exuberant grin while scolding him. Kai took a moment and looked down at her hand, still pressed up against his chest, then slowly raised his eyes to hers. The smile that tugged at the corners of his lips was maybe a bit _too_ suggestive and his eyes seemed to be saying 'You can touch me more if you like.' Selene huffed and spun away from him. They started bickering, circling each other in the confined space, until she took a step back and leaned against the wall. Kai continued to talk, causing Selene to look baffled. Their back and forth continued, but their mood started to shift and soon Selene looked heartbroken as she let the wall support her weight. Another quiet moment passed between them, Kai burying his hands in his pockets staring at the floor, before Selene attempted to break the tension. He didn't respond.

Despite constantly pushing him away, Selene shifted forward as if to go comfort him, but she caught herself. Instead she just mumbled something and Kai started to nod, but then stopped. He straightened his posture and said something that made Selene bite her lower lip. She fixed her eyes to the ground and spoke, but when Kai responded she lifted her head a little, almost unconsciously, and started to monologue. When she got a small laugh out of him, her whole body seemed to relax, comforted. And while he talked, looking at the ceiling, her face took on the same tender loving expression Kai had shown her earlier.

But when she started to respond, she quickly ducked her head, realizing her slip up. Kai stole a glance at her as they talked, and then he was laughing - crinkled eyes and all. Selene caught his gaze for a second and then returned her eyes to her boots as she mumbled something.

But before she had finished, Kai had pushed himself off the wall and took a few quick steps to her. This put their bodies only a fraction of a space apart, closer than they had been the entire time in the elevator and the mere closeness silenced Selene. But Kai was focused on her with intent, waiting for her response. Selene licked her lips, pressed her body firm against the wall, and slowly started to form words. Kai let out a slow breath that pulled her eyes to his lips before she snapped them back to his. His thick lips moved around words with slow deliberation.

The moment seemed to stretched on as the two stood excruciatingly close to each other. And the world waited with bated breath as they simply looked into each other's eyes, both breathing _way_ too hard for simply standing there. Then Selene's lips twitched and her chin lifted in the smallest of movements towards Kai. She wanted him to kiss her. Despite always backing away from him and carefully avoiding his touch, with him so close she couldn't help herself. She was attracted to him and it was obvious.

Kai's gaze dropped to her lips and stayed there for a moment before seductively meeting her eyes. In all of his years growing up in front of the media, all the smiles caught on camera, all the charming glances and good humoured smiles this was an expression the world had never seen him make before. He was dead serious and it was written over every inch of him. Desire.

Kai started to speak and as he did he gradually leaned into her. Selene's eyes were large with disbelief but as his fingers brushed against her side, her tongue ran over her lips. Almost simultaneously their eyes slipped shut with their lips only inches apart simply breathing each other's air.

Suddenly Selene's eyes flew open and her hand snapped to her neck as she started to careen to the side. Kai jumped and managed to catch her, guiding her to the floor. That's when the tape faded to black leaving viewers across the universe stunned.

In days to come, the security footage was broadcast regularly across every major newsfeed. And though many reporters didn't know what to make of it, the net did. An image capture of Kai and Selene staring into each other's eyes just about to kiss was posted onto one of Kai's net fangroups.

And it went viral.

 **References** :

Entire elevator scene. Cinder by Marissa Meyer. Page 222-231.

" . . . And dropped her gaze to the polished blackwood floor. Even the elevators were exquisite in the palace." Cinder by Marissa Meyer. Page 226-227.

" . . . And there were two cameras in each elevator in the palace." Cress by Marissa Meyer. Page 434.

"Linh Peony entered fourth stage of letumosis at 17:24 on 18 Aug 126 T.E." Cinder by Marissa Meyer. Page 245. (This comm arrives after her conversation with Erland)

"Reports are circulating that at approximately 17:00 yesterday [18 Aug 126 T.E.] afternoon Prince Kai was spotted in an elevator dock in the letumosis research wing of the palace-talking to a girl!" 'BREAKING NEWS: Prince Kai Has a Date for the Ball?!' blog post written by Marissa Meyer. Read the post here _/?p=12246_

"We are told that those doors remained closed [after Cinder dragged Kai back into the elevator] for almost **eight** _entire minutes_." 'BREAKING NEWS: Prince Kai Has a Date for the Ball?!' blog post written by Marissa Meyer. Read the post here _/?p=12246_

The cover art is by 7-T, check out more of her art here 

**Author's Note** : Throughout this story I will be referencing not only The Lunar Chronicles books in and of themselves, but also the Lunar Chronicles fandom. I will be doing my best to cite them every time, however I miss one, please message me so I can give proper credit to, mostly likely, the tumblr who originally posted it.


	3. Chapter 3

The net was a wreck leading up to the release of _Scarlet_. The main newsfeeds, left stunned after the release of the elevator footage, had simply refused to speculate or even discuss, the books any more. But as Saturday and the upcoming release of the second volume came progressively closer, people across the galaxy speculated in online forums across the net.

Most people remembered that there was an Earthen named Scarlet Benoit who was on Luna during the revolution. She seemed to have made acquaintance with the Emperor and even the former Lunar Queen, but most believed her involvement was sheer coincidence. A few people even believed she was so detached from Lunar politics that the upcoming book would not mention Kai or Selene at all.

The single newsfeed that did step up to the plate was not found on Earth, but rather on Luna. Despite her abdication the Lunar people were still infatuated with their last monarch. She had been a leader of the commoners and leader for all peoples and many of them still held her in their loyalties despite their new government. So understandably when the books appeared sharing Selene's story they jumped at the chance to discuss it.

They called experts from across the galaxy to speak about their opinions of the politics covered in _Cinder_ and to speculate over _Scarlet_. They asked about the Cyborg Protection Act, the Commonwealth's Cyborg Draft, similar policies through Earth. They asked politicians what it would be like to ascend to a throne as a teenager the toll it would take on a young man, and they even found cyborgs who were willing to talk about it was like to grow up in the Earthen Union.

Despite this, no one knew quite what to expect when _Scarlet_ was released on April 17 129 TE. Book sellers both online and physical propped up displays that were empty hours later. This time the book discussion hit the newsfeeds within the day, although most only stuck to summaries this time around.

The most interesting conversations though, took place on a local newsfeed for the province of France. They decided it would be smart to go to Rieux a town even now, three years after the attacks, known for its large population of former Lunar soldiers. While they were there they went to film at Benoit Farm and Gardens, but when they arrived they found the property under military protection. Commonwealth military. One bright cameraman thought to keep the camera rolling while they arrived and later ran the entire encounter on the feed.

" _I am sorry, but this property is under the safeguard of the Commonwealth at the moment. There will be no trespassing allowed at any time."_

" _We were just hoping to film here for our -"_

" _Were you given permission by the owners of the farm?"_

" _Well no, but-"_

" _No trespassing is allowed."_

Stymied, the reporters had gone to the local tavern to try to find some of the men mentioned at the beginning of _Scarlet_. What they found was a number of locals who opened up about their time during the attacks and their interactions with the woman with the red hair. They discussed the denigrating statements made about Selene.

" _We had no idea who she really was! She was just a pretty face and at the time everyone hated her! We thought she was a criminal!"_

They discussed the night of the first attacks.

" _It was horrifying, so many of us lost loved ones, family, friends. It was hard to even go on."_

But the interview which later went on to viral status on the net, was with a former Lunar foot soldier. A wolf man.

" _I was really happy to read [Scarlet], because so many of us we were taken from our families forcefully and turned into these creatures without our consent. We were made for a sole purpose - to fight and to die. Regardless of what we wanted and without anything to do after the fighting was over. And I know there are number of soldiers still out there being brutal because it is the only thing they have every known, but Wolf is such icon for those of us who want to be more like the men we could have been. He shows us a different way of life, a different reason for living, a different kind of pack._ "

Lunar soldier rehabilitation was not a popular subject. It was so much easier to demonize them all, to write them all off a criminals and murderers and monsters. Most that had been captured were in jail, some were simply executed. But _Scarlet_ changed the public conversation now into one of rehabilitation and acceptance and the public was not quite ready for that. Much like cyborgs, the common people had so many prejudices against them and were reluctant to let go of them.

On the 19th, a second clip was released to newsfeeds. The same black title screen appeared " _From the Rampion_ " and faded quickly. This footage, unlike the footage from the palace, was grainy, black and white, and existed strictly for surveillance purposes.

The scene was serene at first showing two train cars linked together, light by safety lights and the dark scenery blurring behind it. Suddenly a large body swung down from the roof punctuating the steady rhythm of the film. He looked back up and legs came into view and down from the top of the train. The hulking man grabbed the woman at the waist and eased her down onto the floor. There was a moment - an instant - where they stood staring at each other, his hands still on her waist.

And then the moment was broken, the man swept up something off the floor and moved into the car. After a minute, the woman followed. The footage switched to a different camera, this one inside the car which was dark and filled with crates. While the man worked to make a bit of space for them, the woman pulled out a comb and started to brush her hair.

Eventually the man sat down next to her, and the woman touched a spot on his arm. This man was large and intimidating, but one gentle touch from Scarlet and he looked scared. Through the darkness of the film one could barely make out his lips moving in response. Her hand moved softly against her arm. His lips moved again. Her fingers traced something along the side of his face and then dipped down to his lips.

Wolf snatched her hand and looked at her pleading. Scarlet's lips barely moved, and then laid her free hand over his before running it up the length of his arm. There was a still moment as they just looked at each other before she leaned into him and just barely brushed their lips together. She pulled back and Wolf crumbled - all his walls and all his willpower collapsed. He grabbed her body and pressed her lips to his with all the force of a desperate man.

Which is when the screen faded.

 **References** :

Train scene. _Scarlet_ by Marissa Meyer. Page 239-242.

 **Author's Note** : This chapter has been in the work for months, and I knew starting this project that this would be the hardest chapter for me to get through. Also, I had no idea fanfiction had such a problem with posting URLs. So I shall be modifying some things so that you can still view my references.


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